Confusing Things Christians Say - Week 1 - The CORE - Pastor Mike Novotny
Things christians say
Week 1 - The CORE
Pastor Mike Novotny
12:38 PM
Welcome, welcome to week, number one of Confusing Things That Christian Say”.
A little while back I had a chance to take a trip to Argentina and enjoy one of my lunch hours after eating a good-sized lunch. I went out for some famous delicious rich Argentinian ice cream. Now in case you don't know, I didn't know this before, Argentinian ice cream is some of the best ice cream like rich, delicious, insane flavors. They serve it with those little plastic spoons like we do gelatos, you know, pound it like an American but just like savor the goodness except that this particular day, I ran into one particular problem. The menu of the ice cream shop I went to was in the metric system.
Now I know all about a pint of ice cream or a quart of ice cream or a gallon of ice cream, but the menu had a quarter kilo of ice cream and a half kilo of ice cream or a whole kilo of ice cream. And I've heard of a kilogram before. We don't know exactly how much ice cream that is. As I don't know, I'll have a half kilo of ice cream. And that's what this is. The young man at the ice cream shop. Reached over to the counter and pulled off a bucket and started the
And he stuck it in the bucket who had never eaten this much ice cream by themselves. And he thought, one time there was this guy…so I pay for my bucket of ice cream. I go out and find a table, right? Outside the ice cream shop and I noticed this group, this table of four teenagers were also enjoying an ice cream, four of them who are sharing the same sized bucket that I was eating by myself. Now, in case you're wondering, did I finish the bucket? I did. Because America right to represent our people that I regret it. I also did. And why am I telling you this story? Because actually, in the story is a hugely important spiritual lesson for you. And for me, It's hard to know exactly what you should do. If you don't know exactly what something means.
Kilogram. I had heard that word before, but I didn't really, really grasp what it meant. And so in practice, in real life, I had a hard time knowing what to do with it. If you don't know what something really means, It's really hard to know what you should really do. Now I share that with you today because when you come to church like this service, when you're watching at home, like a whole bunch of you are today, when you grab the Bible and try to read it, that same principle is so true. It's really hard to know what to do with the Bible. Unless you understand what the Bible is saying. If you're taking notes, let me write them down this way. The big problem with a passion that I have in my Ministry is this, that you can't enjoy and you can't apply what you don't understand.
That you agree with that. You could sing it and you could say it, you could pray it. You could repeat it. You could go through the motions and the Sunday routine, but if you don't get it, if you don't understand it, after the service is over, what really are you going to do with it? This is massively important, if you're brand new to church especially. But even if you've been around a while, even if you've heard some of the classic phrases that pop up here and there in the Bible, or Christian culture, it doesn't really matter. I think, if you're older, some of you grew up in church and you went 1000 Sundays, but you never really got it. You never saw the connections between the Bible and your real life, and when that happens.
If you don't slow down to confessed use it. I would make the Bold claim that you're really going to get little out of it.
And I think that's important because I could almost bet that in every church service that you attend, there is something you don't totally understand.
Like you pray the Lord's Prayer. Your kingdom come, if I put a microphone in your face and you had to tell the whole church. What you're actually asking God when you say your kingdom come?
Would you be confident in your answer? Now, we sing these songs in church, whether they're traditional or contemporary, God, you're turning bones into armies. Do you know what that is? Reference to Ezekiel 37. A few of you might know we believe in the Saints communion. Do you know what, who, the Saints are and what their communion is? There's a classic contemporary worship song called “Cornerstone” I love. It says “God my anchor holds within the Veil.” You know what the veil is, and what your anchor is, and what the to have to do with each other, if you confess the traditional Creed's of the church, do you know what it means? That Jesus is the only begotten son of the Father, you get begotten. When a pastor says, hey, take heart, Jesus, is the atoning sacrifice for your sins. Could you explain to a first grader with the word atoning means and why it's such good news but it doesn't matter what style of church you attend. There's all kinds of stuff that's beautiful and Rich like Argentinian ice cream. But if you don't get it, what you gonna do with it? That's why I'm so glad you're here because in this sermon series we're going to take a bunch of things that Christians say that are kind of confusing.
Maybe you've never heard of him. If you have, but you never really thought about it, and we're going to slow down long enough to uncuff you, use it and unpack it so that you get it. Because if you understand it, well then you can enjoy it and then you can apply it. So we're going to tackle things like Christianity is a relationship and not a religion. Have you heard that? Is that true? Christianity is not a religion. I thought it was the biggest one. Or how's your walk with God? What does the Bible talk about your life as a walk? It's interesting how I hate hate the sin, but love the sinner. I love you, but I loathe the way that you choose to live your life. Is that true? Is that what God wants us to do? Fellowship, have you heard this before? Is fellowship to sugar and caffeine after Amen? Or is it something more in biblical terms? When talk about all these things and I hope you get a ton out of it. And today, we're going to tackle one of the biggest ones. It's a confusing thing. Not just Christians but Jesus Christ once said the phrase to be born again,
What does that mean? Are you born again? What is a born again Christian?
Today, I want to slow down long enough for you, to think, maybe more deeply than you ever have in your life about what it means to be born. They're going to compare that to what the Bible says, about what it means to be born again. So I hope you're awake. I hope you've stretched out your note-taking hand, you're going to write furiously and fast and we're learn a whole bunch about the Christian life because Jesus smashed six of the most important things that you could ever learn about Christianity into the simple little phrase to be born again. So, I'm ready for you. There's actually two sections in the Bible, one from Jesus, and one from Jesus’ friend, Peter, that use the phrase “born again”, give your full attention here because here's what it says.
“Jesus replied to a very religious man named Nicodemus. Very truly, I tell you. No one can see the kingdom of God. Unless they are born again. How can someone be born when they're old and confused? It could even they said surely, they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born. Jesus answered. Very truly. I tell you. No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit.
Then many years later. Jesus’ friend, Peter. He wrote this for you: You Christians have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of inperishable through the living and enduring word of God, like newborn babies crave, pure spiritual milk. So that by it, you may grow up in your salvation. Now that you have tasted that the Lord is good,
So this week, I had a chance to think deeply about birth. What does it mean to be born? And I compared what I learned to these verses, and I came up with, with six things, six parallels between your physical birth and what the Bible talks about with a spiritual rebirth. So, if you're here live, I want you to open your bullets and I've given you six blanks that we're going to fill in and two columns born and born again. I want you to fill in as fast as you can, as many notes as you can in those columns. And if you're watching at home, you're going to grab a pen piece of paper and a Bible.
Because we're going to. What it means when we were physically born and where to connect that with the most important parts of our spiritual life, as we talk about being born again. So, six points, I'm going to talk fast. Don't worry. We're not gonna be here for two hours. I hope here's the first thing. You need to know. It's not a shocker when you were born. You had life.
Life. That's the first thing you need to know. There was evidence that you were a living being. I know sometimes tragically they're still burst but when you were born there was a heart that was beating there was a brain that was waving there were lungs. There were vocal cords that were crying, there was evidence that you were not dead, but alive. And in the same way, if a person has been born again, a fancy way of saying they've entered God's family, they've become a Christian. There is evidence that they are no longer dead in sin, but they're alive with God. Like their faith is legit, it's a real follower of Jesus. Know, it's a huge question. How do you know if someone really has life with God?
Two things. I love you to write these down first.
They repent.
Second, they believe in Jesus. Repentance and Jesus are like the heartbeat and the brain waves that prove that someone is actually part of God's family. You can't just look at them and tell if someone is a Christian, but if you can figure out, are they sorry for their sins, repentance and do they trust in Jesus? To get them to Heaven. It's not my works, like I'm a good person, but because Jesus forgave me. Jesus, save me. That is the evidence that a person has been born again.
In other words, no one's a real Christian if they live in sin continuance and don't care about Sin. I mean, how could God's love be in their heart if they don't really love God and no one is a Christian. If they don't have faith in Jesus, if they think “well I'm going to make it to Heaven because I'm pretty good or I've been trying or made these changes are not as bad as my brother.” Like no, a person who doesn't repent, doesn't have faith in Jesus as Savior, is not born again, but a person who has those two things. That's the evidence of real Christian Life. Now, what was it important for you hugely important? I was consoling, a guy in the last seven days who questioned if he had spiritual life. Because his faith was not very strong.
This has happened to me in my life too. Has that happened to you? It is so easy to confuse strength with life, right? You don't feel really strong that your faith isn't that big. You're still struggling with that. Same old sin, you're still falling back into that old habit or addiction. You just not the best Christian around and, you know it and you start to wonder, am I really saved? It's got a really good except me. He's got really for me. I mean, my faith is so weak right now. Will he reject me?
But listen. Strength is not equal to life is a little baby strong.
Can't even flip over on its own. Is it alive? It is. Is a toddler, the most mature human being on the planet. All the moms are saying. No, they are not, they're not. Is a toddler still alive? Yes. Right, is maturity important? Yes. Is strength and growth important? Sure. We'll talk about that in a second but please, please, please. For the sake of your own. Peace and joy. Don't confuse Christians strength with Christian Life. We're all trying to get stronger but everyone even the weakest Christian, even the littlest kid in the family of God, with repentance and faith has life and they've been born again. Jesus died and He rose to give you this gift so that you would know whether it's a good day or a bad day as a child of God. You have life with God. Don't the enemy take that away because you're not strong just yet because the evidence of real Christianity being born again is repentance and faith, in Jesus to have God's greatest gifts.
Life number two. When it comes to being born and comes to being born again, there is a process.
Process. Kids heard that were the kids that can you raise your hand? If you're under 15, Park, it's turned to a grown up next to you and asks, that's them where babies come from.
Okay. Stop, will you? Well we'll let you do the homework. After church has done that, you know, there's a process that leads to a person being born Jesus and Peter both mentioned this Peter talks about perishable seed. Jesus says flesh gives birth to flesh. Nicodemus is talking about his mother's womb, right? So there's a predictable man, woman, seed, egg about nine months. A lot of pushing that's where birth, or life, comes from. And in the same verses Jesus and Peter say there's actually a process for being born again. He catches it. Jesus said the spirit's capital s. Gives birth to Spirit. Like, it's not a mother. It's God, the holy spirit that gives someone the gift of new life. And then Peter added this, you Christians have been born again through the word of God.
How does a person become a Christian? How does a heart change where you don't want to sin anymore? Or you look to Jesus? Instead of yourself as your ticket to heaven? Well, the Holy Spirit uses the holy message of the Bible to make us Sons and Daughters of our Holy Father, in Heaven is a very predictable process of conversion of being born again. It's this: means that God uses his word sometimes with water and baptism, sometimes, all by itself, that changes the human heart, works the miracle, and make someone born again.
And here's what that super practical. If you are a couple who wanted to have a baby, You would not just pray about it.
You would embrace the process, you pray for sure but there's like a part of it. There's a way that just this just works that's how birth happens in the same way. If there's someone in your life that you would love to see become part of God's family, you have a niece or a nephew or a best friend or roommate or a boyfriend like that I would love for them to repent of their sin and trust in Jesus. Don't just pray about it. Because God doesn't change human hearts through. Simple prayers. He changes them through the process.
Peter makes it so clear. You have been born again. How not just through someone praying for you even born again through the word of God.
So any chance you get to connect someone that you care about to the word of God. This is the way that the Holy Spirit changes, their hearts makes them see things in a whole new way. I'm not talking about a bait-and-switch or being pushy. I'm just talking about giving someone the opportunity. So that that seed of the Word can hit the egg of their hearts and create this miracle that no one saw coming.
Right. You have a friend or family member.
It means inviting them to church. So they hear the word that might change their heart, It's about sharing in your own words. This simple faith, that we share that God so loved the world, including them that he gave his one and only son. One of my favorite things, you know? If I'm thinking of a friend during a sermon that I hear a podcast, I'll share it with them with just a couple clicks on my phone and say, hey, I thought of you at minute 17 of this message. You tell me one human who isn't curious enough to say, hmm. I wonder why. And they open it up and you start a spiritual conversation about the word, there are a million ways to do it, but I would say this, there is a process by which human beings get new birth. Some people call this, the means of Grace, the means or the ways that God gives his grace and changes our hearts. So let's keep praying for people. But let's not stop there. Let's embrace the process by which the holy spirit gives us new life.
Number three, be born to be born again. Also connects us to people
This is true of every single human being who is born they have, a genetic connection to people
I don't know you but I know you had a mom and you had a dad because you couldn't have been born without them.
And the Bible says that when someone is born again, they have an automatic connection to the most amazing people.
Which makes me think of 20 years ago. I was playing college soccer in South Central Minnesota and we have to take this long, long, long trip way up to Duluth, Minnesota, and you know where Duluth, Minnesota is…. like a cousin of Canada, right? So wait, way up there in the bus. We got totally thumped. I remember, I didn't score any goals. I don't even remember touching the ball. You know, we've had to drive the long way home after totally getting shut out. But I remember something beautiful about that game.
There was one fan who came.
I didn't actually see him before the game started to know who's going to be there, but I looked up in the middle of the massacre. And there was this man standing, right by the woods, behind the corner flag, just watching him.
And that man was my dad, my dad had driven 5 hours from Green Bay, Wisconsin, all the way up to Duluth.
He's about ready to turn around and drive five hours all the way back to Green Bay from Duluth to watch, 90 minutes of his son play very, very mediocre soccer.
But why would my dad do that?
Well, the answer is because when I was born, I was born into people who love me.
Now, I don't know what your dad is like and I'm not sure of the home that you were raised in, but I do know this. If you've been born again, if you're a person today who repents of sin and trust in Jesus, the three most amazing people in the universe, show up at everything you do.
You know, I'm talking about the Father in Heaven, the very essence of love.
Dad, who is everything? Your dad was or everything. You wish your dad would have been a dad who shows up when you're struggling. A dad, who gives you the tough love when you need it. A dad who forgives you when you fall on your face. A God who teaches you his wisdom like that is God. He is with you literally in this moment sitting next to you. Do you see him when you're driving home or you're sitting in a therapist's office, when you're in a prison cell or in divorce court, when it's another day at the factory or at the hospital, like don't miss your dad standing there, smiling his face because of God's grace. And then next to him is Jesus, your big brother.
Hands pierced for the forgiveness of your sins, letting you know that however, bad your struggle might be, what's in his grace is, always greater knowing that you're going to make it to Heaven. That you're forgiven today, that the Father's not mad at you anymore. Now, his face is shining upon you and it's gracious to you. What, how amazing to have a big brother like that. And then next to them is The Holy Spirit. The most amazing guide and counselor Miss of you love seeing your counselor but you can only get in every six weeks. Cost you a whole bunch of money the holy spirit's always there. Always free the insurance card of your faith in Jesus pays for every single visit you never run out.
Every single Christian, what do you come from a messed-up family or beautiful? One has the most amazing people in their life, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who will never leave us. Never forsake us are always there with us. How sweet is it to be born again? There's no funerals the father, never Fades away. Jesus, never gets too busy with big brother stuff. They're always there for us and man how good it is when we feel alone. To know that we are not alone. We're the born-again children of God who are connected to the most amazing people. God the Father God the Son, and God the Spirit.
Number four. Everyone who was born and everyone who is born, again also has purpose.
Write down that word, purpose.
Maybe never thought of it this way. Every time a baby is born. It has a great purpose and a very simple purpose: to grow up, right?
If someone is born as a baby and they stay a baby, that's a problem. All right. Johnny, how old are you? You're 38 if Johnny goes home after church and he grabs his binky and gets a bottle out and he just binge watches Blues Clues and for a while, we're going to talk to you, Johnny, right? But the purpose of Johnny's birth was not for Johnny to be born. It was for him to grow up to mature. Yeah, and Peter tells us the same thing. He catches these words, he says craves the pure spiritual milk of the Bible. So that by it, you may, here's the quote grow up in your salvation.
So you're born, you became a Christian, praise God. Your heart is repentant it trusts in Jesus. Amen. Well, the goal isn't just to sit around for the next 76 years until we make it to heaven, the goal is to grow up.
Now think for a second, what does it mean? When a person is grown up, they mature.
Here's the way I see it, you know, you're grown up when you do the right things without Mom making you.
You know, when you're a little kid, your mom has to make you do the right thing a lot. Correct mothers, is this true? Yeah, your job is still difficult. It is true for dads too, right? No, you can't drink Mountain Dew for breakfast and no, you can't have a half-kilogram of ice cream instead of eating your lunch and all of you can't run into the street. And all you can't stay up till 2 a.m. like - to make you do the things that are actually good for you. You know, you’re mature when you turn 12 or 16 or 22 or whatever and you start doing the right thing, when Mom isn't there.
When there's no one looking over your shoulder, making you say, please, and thank you, and be nice to your brother. Like, when those things are within you and you see the wisdom of living in the right way and you just do it, just do it perfectly but you know you're mature. When you've reached that spot where whether mom is here, not whether dad is watching or not. I'm going to do the right thing because it's the right thing.
What does it mean then to grow up in your salvation?
It means you've been saved. You've seen the goodness of God, you're motivated by his grace and you want to do the right thing, whether it's Sunday or not. Whether the pastor's watching or he isn't, whether you're very religious, grandma, is there to hear the conversation or she's already in heaven. Those things stop mattering because you start to do the right thing because someone's watching, but because you want to,
When I was a freshman in high school. I used to fake that. I was sleeping. Hoping that my mom had missed their alarm and I won't have to come to church. I remember this like sitting in my bed, like, if she sleeps in for 5 more minutes. Yes, we're going to miss church. My mama did drag me in. It is the right thing? It was so good for my faith, but you had to make me. Are you gonna get to that point where you say, why I'm not waiting for my mom to bring me to go to church, to be with the people of God, and hear the word of God and sing the Praises of God. Right. I'm not gonna get drunk tonight. I'm gonna watch how much I drink and because mom's watching her, oh, there's the pastor at the BART? Like, no. Because I want to be self-controlled because it's wise not to wake up, feeling terrible with regret and shame and a hangover. I'm going to be nice to my brother, his mom makes me. But because loving your neighbor, especially when you're related matters to God, right?
So let me ask you a tough question. Is there any part of your spiritual life that needs to grow up just a little bit?
Is there any part of your character where you are a little bit different when you're sitting in church? And people are watching as opposed to when you're not?
Like, whatever is popping into your mind right now, Peter has a passion and the passion is your purpose.
You have to wait for God to whisper some secret mission to you. What he wants for all of his kids, all of his beloved and forgiving Sons, and Daughters is to grow up in their salvation. Now that you and I have tasted that the Lord is good. Loaded it to look like to be a person of Integrity who isn't one way on Sunday and a different way on Monday.
What it looks like for you to be the mature, growing kind of person whose consistent in their words and actions. Not perfect, but living in the light not hiding any secrets.
I don't know what the answer is, but I know that's the beautiful purpose that God has given to you as his kid.
And I know this: number five. That God's going to help you do it.
The fifth thing I want you to know about being born. That born-again is that God gives us resources to fulfill our purpose.
So when you were born, it was like, Mom pushed out, doctor cut the cord, and everyone said, good luck.
I know that there are tons of resources. There were wipes and even diapers, never bottles. And there were passes. He's and there were binky's and there were blankets and there were cartoons, and there was a roof over your head. And there was a bunch of stuffed animals, piled around your bed, there were people who loved you schools in your community, a fridge full of food. There were so many resources that you aren't totally Independent as you fulfilled your purpose to grow up.
Peter is getting out that when he says this crave, the pure spiritual milk, the Bible so that by its the Bible, you may grow up in your salvation.
Aren't you thinking? Yeah, I want to grow. I don't know if they stuck in those old ways. How do I change Pastor? Well, this is Peter's answer crave the Bible because by its you grow up in your face.
A couple months ago maybe 11 year old from our church. I came walking in those doors and he's wearing one of those like hyped up Sports t-shirts. That just said, humble and hungry.
And I said he said, I like that I said. When people come to church and they're humble and they're hungrynthey grow so fast. If you start coming to church, I don't care what your background is. I don't care how messy your life or your marriage is, but if you come with humility and hunger, I want to grow, I want to be close to God. I can guarantee you're about to go through spiritual puberty. Is that a weird phrase to use? I'm not sure if anyone's ever used it before like to bowl like you're gonna grow in a way that people see, Peter knows that if you love the verb, if you crave it, Not if you dabble in it if you crave the Bible to teach me this book, I want to understand it. If you stay humble enough to say, I don't get it, Pastor. What does that mean? Hey, when you guys say this, what does that mean to you? If you leave your pride, at the door and say, I want to grow, I need help ask questions, confess sins by it, you may grow up super fast in your salvation,
But this so desperately is what I want to see for you. So proud of a guy who would talk to me after the first service, he said pastor I have been thinking about this question for 10 years. Can I ask you? Boom, and he's growing as we get answers. And this is so true for you because you don't know this, you know, the sweetest dopest part of being a Christian in the 2020s, in America,
Is that the fridge is always full?
Here's what I mean. Imagine if you lived in Peter’s day, and you read Peter’s letter and he's asking crave the Bible so that you can grow up in your salvation and you look around your first century house. And you say, oh, I don't have a Bible and you ask your neighbor. He's like I don't got a Bible and he has two sisters and she says, I don't got a Bible. Quick question. Do you have a smartphone on you right now? Some are in your car, yeah almost all this. How did you have the Bible app on your phone? Can you imagine that if we could go back to our first century church and say, look at the Bible. Peter, that's the part that you wrote, you can read the scroll and about the life of Jesus and the letters of Paul. How do you do that?
Like the fridge is full of milk, that makes Christians grow. You know, I don't get to climb a mountain, to find the word of God, if you're humble and hungry, if you crave it, like Peter says, you can find it. And I want to tell you I am thinking of a guy I met with this week his faith has changed in ways that he would never expect. He said if you would have told me that I would be this kind of guy, I would have said no way but he's craving the word. He confesses his sins openly. He asked questions when he doesn't get it he's taking notes in church and if you imitate his example that you will fulfill your purpose with a God-given resource, the pure spiritual milk of our Lord and our savior. So okay, if you read a paper Bible, download the app. Listen to podcasts, and Christian music. If you crave it, if you want it, your father's so generous. He's going to give it. So, you can grow up in your salvation.
Finally, when it comes to some people who are born, And all people who are going to be born again, the last thing I want to teach you is about riches.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 to 40 percent of Americans will receive an inheritance. And if you're curious, the average inheritance is 46 thousand dollars. So, for one out of three of you, You got about 50 Grand on the way. For two out of three of you. I'm sorry, but But let me show you what Peter says in the same letter where he brings up being born. Again, I'll put these on the screen. He says, God has given us New Birth. There has been born again into an inheritance that can never perish spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven. For you. 100% of people who repent and trust in. Jesus, have an inheritance a spot prepared for them in heaven. That means they have an eternity of life that is better and more beautiful than anything they've ever experienced here on Earth.
That means you can trust in Jesus. There's a spot where your knee won't ache and your head won't hurt. It's a spot where you never have to battle anxiety or depression. You never have to feel regrets, because you did something that you regret. It's a place where it's more beautiful than the mountains. It's sweeter than Argentinian ice cream. Like God has a life that's waiting for us. It's yours as a free gift through the name of Jesus and it gets better and then it gets better and then it gets better and no one can touch it or take it away. Like culture could tank your body could break down. Your friends could turn on you, but Peter says this inheritance is kept in heaven for you. It can never spoil, never fade and never be taken away.
On the grand scheme of eternity. Life is like this.
And then the real goodness begins.
Let your neighbor have their 46,000 or Grandma's cabin. You, and I get heaven.
And if you're young, you don't know this, but you're going to Blink and you're going to find your first gray hair and you're going to squint because you can't read your email, you have to increase the resolution, right? Or life's going to go fast, and that's sobering. And it's also beautiful because it means that this broken world with all its ups and downs it passes. Quickly, it comes and goes. It's a one-day, something comes and it never goes.
Seeing the face of a loving father. Seeing the Open Arms of our amazing savior. Receiving the wisdom of the holy spirit. This inheritance is kept in heaven for all who have been born again.
And friends, that's what it means. Life with God through the process of the word and the spirit connecting us. The people, the Holy Trinity with a purpose to grow up in our Salvation resources to help us get there in the promise of the riches of Heaven. This is what Jesus meant, when he said you must be born again. And this is the beautiful gift when God gave us that new birth in the name of his son,
There's an old story that says when Martin Luther was translating the Bible, 500 years ago into his native German, he scribbled a little note in the margin that said born once, die twice.
Born twice. Die once.
And you wonder in this epic work. What, why would he bring up being born again?
Well, maybe he knew what it meant. I mean, everything.
Living with purpose connected to people. The hope of Heaven, the gift of God. So my brothers and sisters in Jesus, all of you who have been born again. Let's celebrate the gift of a heavenly father who gave us this gift of new life.
